


Bell's Kitchen

by LordDWH



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Micah Bell Being an Asshole, Multi, Van der linde opens a restaurant, and the gang is all here, will add tags as I go along
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29633880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordDWH/pseuds/LordDWH
Summary: Dutch held his arms out wide as he finally revealed the final product to the gang, his family. This bright smile on his face, proud of creation that finally came true, hell even Hosea could not help but feel a little proud but not because his best friend was finally able to complete such a dream, but because he was surprised that the gang were able to work together to achieve such a great thing. So it was understandable when Hosea said allowed, to the group “somehow you did it.”“Yes we did, old girl, yes we did.”
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, I would just like to say that this very idea was not solely mine and was a collaboration between a group of us in the @real-rdr-facts (check out the Tumblr) discord server.  
> So I hope you enjoy this just as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Dutch stood proudly before his final investment, his arms crossed above his chest while his life-long partner in crime and best friend, Hosea Matthews stood next to him, equally sharing that fond smile while he too admired the building. 

“So you did it, Dutch,” Hosea stated, still not believing that he had finally scraped together enough money to buy such a fine place. Sure it still needed a lot of work here and there but they had more than enough men for that job, for now, he just stood astonished as all their dreams finally began to come true. Slowly, but it was for sure looking it that day.

“I did old friend, it took some time but I finally did it with your help of course.” Dutch gently nudged Hosea in the shoulder and both men shared an equal laugh in triumph.

“So, will we be gettin' John and Arthur to fix this place up a bit?” Hosea asked but his friend didn't answer, not straight away at least.

Dutch turned down, still processing the question asked of him as if it was one of the hardest ones he had ever heard. “Yes.” He finally gave. “We'll get Bill and Javier to help them too.”

“I think Charles is a man better suited for the job, but whatever you do say Dutch. Won't go against your judgement.”

“Thank you, old friend.” He smiled, scratching his forehead with a finger before patting Hosea on the shoulder. “Now let's go, shall we? Get our sons up here to work on the place.”

“If they don't kill each other.” The pair shared a chuckle amongst themselves as they walked back down the cobbled street.

* * *

Susan and Hosea could not believe that the men, their sons were capable of such a magnificent piece. In the short time given they had expected some walls to be patched but never had they thought to see such a beautifully constructed building in front of them. Not that the derelict house Dutch had purchased before wasn't any good, but this in front of them was an entirely new structure. Hosea thought that Javier must have had a bigger part in the design of the exterior because the likes of Arthur and John were not that creative and Bill was, well he was Bill.

“I think we vastly underestimated the skills of these four,” Susan said. Hosea watched as she approached the building, her hand following up the railings made freshly cut from tree logs. The building overall had a very western feel and it reminded Hosea of those old movies he used to watch with Arthur and John when they were young, just before Tilly and Mary-Beth joined.

“The place sure is lovely. Reckon Dutch'll be fond?”

“If he isn't then I'll teach him to be grateful.” Miss Grimshaw spat, waving a finger down at Hosea. “Have my word on that, dear.”

“I don't doubt you for a minute, Miss Grimshaw.”

Susan smiled down at him before turning on her heel to enter the building before them, taking the key out of pocket and inserting it into the lock. With a twist the lock was opened and she pushed it forward to reveal the room on the other end.

“It'll be a lot of work gettin' this place homey, but the men sure as hell did a good job.”

“They sure did.”

There were still a few tools lying around that the men discarded and Susan let out a huff as she went straight to picking them up, a long string of cusses flowing free that were directed at those who were not present. “Still can't tidy up properly for shit.”

Hosea laughed discreetly, covering his mouth with his hand as he worried over Susan picking up on it but she seemed more focused on tidying what little they had left to pay him any more attention.

“Didn't Molly and Abigail say they would take on most the decorating tasks?” Hosea asked for confirmation. While Susan still gathered the last of the tools she nodded slowly, swearing loudly when she dropped a hammer on her foot.

“They did. When do you think we should send them on over?”

“Well we don't want to put it off any longer, the majority of them are all free this afternoon so I don't see why we don't have them get ready now.”

“Sounds like a plan, Hosea.”

“We should get goin' then, rally the troop.”

* * *

“So you want me to do what exactly?” Molly sighed allowed, drumming her fingers against her arm while waiting for instruction. 

“You wanted a hand in decoratin' this place, so decorate. Abigail's offered her help so I don't see what the problem is Miss O'Shea.” Susan spoke in such a way as if she thought Molly was some lower being, not worthy of her time and in return, the Irishwoman looked up at Grimshaw with a scowl.

“There's no problem it's just that everythin' I suggested we use you don't like.”

“Look, Miss O'Shea-”

“Oh it's Molly, don't go being all formal again. Known me long enough.”

“Well, Molly.” Saying her first name was bitter on Susan's tongue and she hated forcing herself to say it, the thought foreign and unfamiliar. “What do you suggest.”

“My Ma used to knit blankets that she would drape over furniture. It was this pretty decorative piece and I don't see why we can't do that for some of the chairs in this place.” When Molly finished the suggestion she looked at the older woman for permission, but Susan only stared down at her with this conflicted expression. Eventually, she did let out a quiet sigh and nodded slowly. 

“Alright, anything else?”

Molly pointed at different corners in the building, notably most by the large windows and a few spots by the fireplaces. “Some potted plants couldn't hurt. Liven the place up a bit.”

“I'll speak to Dutch about it.”

“Thank you.” With that Molly had left the restaurant and approached Charles who was carrying furniture from the truck and into the building following instruction from Arthur who she had suspicions he had been romantically involved with. He passed the woman by with a smile, stopping only briefly to ask her where she though the small table would look past.

“Stick it by a window for now.” He nodded and continued up the road. 

“Mornin', Molly- how are ya?” Lenny being as polite as usual greeted, this proud smile present while he folded that morning's newspaper. He was more a reader than a worker so it came as no surprise to see him sitting in the shade with such material in hand.

“All's fine. Have you seen Dutch? Want to talk with him about this place.”

Lenny thought about it but eventually shook his head to provide an answer. “Not recently, sorry. Although, earlier I saw him talking with Hosea.”

Molly thanked him and left him back to the reading, muttering slight curses under her breath at the unofficial leader of this bunch at his disappearance.

* * *

Dutch held his arms out wide as he finally revealed the final product to the gang, his family. This bright smile on his face, proud of creation that finally came true, hell even Hosea could not help but feel a little proud but not because his best friend was finally able to complete such a dream, but because he was surprised that the gang were able to work together to achieve such a great thing. So it was understandable when Hosea said allowed, to the group “somehow you did it.”

“Yes we did, old girl, yes we did.”

“So what now, Dutch? How the hell d'you expect to grow this place.”

When Dutch didn't answer straight away Hosea grew worried, worried that his friend had some outlandish idea that was completely impossible to achieve. It wasn't like a restaurant would gain popularity overnight and they had bills that needed paying. The joys of living.

“Dutch?” Hosea pushed for an answer.

“That is where I come in.” Hosea turned back and frowned when he saw Josiah standing behind, hand on a cigarette and the creepiest grin on his face anyone had ever seen. “Dutch has asked to be in charge of finance, like our Herr Strauss is in charge of finance. It makes sense, darling.”

“Please don't call me ‘darling’, what other jobs has anyone got?” Hosea pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at Dutch. “Please say they're sensible.”

“We've not thought it all through, but Micah has offered to be head chef. He's an exceptionally qualified cook so I think he'd be perfect.”

Hosea gritted his teeth and had the hold back the sentence with far too many curses from slipping out. The thought of Micah Bell being the head chef was one met with an unfavourable groan, not from just him but many other members of the group too, especially Arthur and Charles. When Micah heard the response he kicked himself forward from the wall he had been leaning against and walked past with the grace of a rat. “Well, unless someone else wants to deal with the stress of cooking meals perfectly for customers and then dealing with any backlash due to it not being what they desired, then do, offer to take over.”

“He has a point, Hosea. Micah would just yell back at anyone who gives us grief.” Arthur reasoned. 

“Yes, but Micah?”

“It's better than Simon Pearson.”

Pearson looked offended at Arthur's words, standing forward with his mouth agape but he decided against arguing, he had heard plenty of times how awful the meals he spent so long preparing for them and quite frankly, he was sick of the ungratefulness.

“Please, old friend. Have some faith in this choice.”

“Oh, I'm sure I and many other's have faith that this isn't your best decision.” Dutch completely dismissed his friend's response with a guffaw and slapped his shoulder forcefully, despite no joke being made. An awkward laugh resonated amongst the group before Dutch raised his hand to silence the gang.

“Tomorrow is opening day, I expect to see you all here no later than five in the mornin', the restaurant opens at seven and I want to run everyone over everything one last time. Understood?”

They silently complained at the times but nodded in unison and the lack of back-chat pleased Dutch Van Der Linde. “Good.” He said giving them that same charismatic charm. 

“Go home and rest. You're gonna need it!”


	2. Chapter 2

Hosea got an early start to the day, coming before anybody else because he had simply wished to give one thorough look around the establishment; make sure that everything was in good shape before the opening.

“There a reason you're here so early, Mr. Bell?” When Hosea entered the kitchen he expected it to be empty and perhaps smelling strongly of cleaning chemicals so he surprised by the fresh smell of bacon among other things and Micah standing there while he prepared the food with such glamour and grace. The way Micah worked was close in comparison to a Disney princess. 

“Wanted to get here before the others.” Micah didn't look from the food but there was this smile that Hosea could only describe as close to sinister. “Where's the boss?”

“I presume at home or on his way. Glad you could help yourself to the food for our customers.” He leaned against the door frame and watched intently while the chef finished the meal, serving it all up on two separate plates and then pushing one over so it was closer. 

“Made a bit too much, here.. a gift.” Hosea eyed the plate before nervously pulling it over. With a forced smile, Hosea raised a fork and took a gentle bite of the food but the falseness faded with pure joy at the surprisingly good tasting food. 

“Shit, you are as good a cook as Dutch claimed.” He complimented. Micah chuckled lowly and they both enjoyed the rest of their breakfast in a comfortable silence until the bell on the door rang out from someone entering the establishment. Hosea rose from the chair, pushing his empty plate over towards Micah, and left the kitchen to see who had joined them that evening.

“Oh, hello Dutch.”

“Hosea!” Dutch's arms were outstretched, “it is good to see you here friend!”

Hosea accepted the hug that would come and pulled away just in time for the rest of the group to enter the building, each sharing tired faces from interrupted sleep. “And good mornin' gang.” Dutch cheered, meeting a gargle of mumbles and half-hearted replies of ‘good morning's back.

It was unfortunate, the sea of miserable faces but like any other day it was very easy to ignore such looks directed his way and Dutch was able to stand proudly before them ready to instruct what he expected of them all. However, he couldn't begin any speeches due to one particular individual not being there.

“Where is Mr. Bell?” He asked.

“Right here, boss.” Micah wasn't with the others but had been listening anyway, leaning against the staircase with his hat pulled down low to shroud his face in shadows. When he was seen, Dutch smiled proudly before turning towards the majority and talking. 

Nobody listened to Dutch, all he said sounded like nonsense to their ears. Restaurant this and business that, not even the mention of money was of any remote interest. When his talk had finished, Dutch clapped his hands together a single time in order to grab the group's attention one final time before the day had started, they looked forward just the same but he noticed the dim twinkle of enthusiasm behind some of their eyes. Dutch smiled proudly and cleared his throat, adding a final “remember to enjoy yourselves, I'm proud” before sending everyone off to what jobs they had been told.

* * *

Business was unsurprisingly slow, almost painful and Karen had to be supervised so she didn't take any of the whiskey for herself.

Eventually, the door went and everyone who had been working the restaurant all perked up to see this new face. It was incredibly awkward given the lack of customers in the building, being none but the small family who had entered seemed adamant about eating here.

Susan quickly approached with a practised smile and introduced herself, wanting to introduce their first customers to a welcoming environment and not scare them off. From the distance, Dutch watched with hopeful eyes and he almost let out a loud 'hoorah' when he noticed Miss Grimshaw escorting them to the table, once they were sitting he turned towards the kitchen staff and clapped a few times to get them prepared for whatever meal they wished for.

“Mary-Beth, you go take their order and make sure to be careful when doing so,” Susan instructed and with a gentle nod she left her post and approached their table, a small notepad and pen in hand ready.

“Hello there.” She greeted. “I'm Mary-Beth and I'll be your waitress for this evening.” Gently she passed over the menus and allowed them to look at the foods and drinks in peace, backing away slightly so they didn't have her lurking over their shoulders while there wasn't much else to do. 

The children were fussy in their pickings, not wanting any other food besides ‘Ice cream’ and their stubbornness to choose a decent meal irritated the parents. Eventually, they had settled for chicken nuggets and fries and Mary-Beth was more than happy to finally have an order put down and brought to the kitchen.

* * *

“Chicken nuggets?” Micah seemed insulted by the request, not believing that his first meal happened to be something so simplistic. His shouting and the frantic attempt from Mary-Beth to calm him echoed throughout the restaurant, silence drowned out by his unnecessary yells and curses.

“Oh hell, if he ain't gonna do it then I will.” Abigail had enough of his yelling and shooed him away from the workspace, gazing down at him with that familiar sense of disgust he had grown used too. Micah rolled his eyes and let her be, watching from the corner that a smirk while she tried finding her way around the kitchen.

“Abby I think we should let him do it, he is the professional after all.” Mary-Beth tried to reason but was only dismissed by both. She took in a long breath of air, running her hand down her face before leaving them to work out the meal themselves after all, that was not Mary-beth's problem.

“You get him to cook it after?” Tilly asked, just wanting to be polite and converse with Mary-Beth who already looked exhausted for the day.

She didn't bother answering and only leaned against the railing, letting out a quiet sigh before turning towards her peers. “Micah's a pain in the ass and it's only day one.”

“You're right there, hun.” Tilly chuckled.

“All this over chicken nuggets, _nuggets_ , you think I had asked him to cook such a simplistic meal for some person who had a higher status than us… not for some children.” 

Tilly looked sympathetically at Mary-Beth but her response to the woman was interrupted by the loud crash of pots and pans from within the kitchen space. They shared both an equal expression of worry before rushing inside, expecting to see a mess and one of the two to be hurt.

“Are you alright, Abigail?” Tilly asked the minute she was through the door and Abigail nodded slowly as she finished sharing the food out on the plates, it was Micah who slowly raised a hand to pull himself up to a stand.

“Micah slipped on a puddle.” She explained. “Thought some pots would save him didn't do much.”

“She threw a wooden spoon at me.”

“Only because you deserved it!”

“Like hell I did, you were complaining under your breath and all I did was ask you to kindly shut the fuck up.”

Abigail's jaw dropped before she grabbed another spoon from the pot, marching close to him and stopping near. “I swear if you keep at it this spoon will go so far up-”

“Okay, you two I think we have heard enough,” Tilly interjected before things really got out of hand and when the situation was calmer, Mary-Beth quickly grabbed the children's food and rushed them out to deliver them to the table.

“You tell Dutch that this bastard is… a bastard.”

“How creative of you.”

With a huff, Abigail dropped the spoon and marched from the kitchen workspace and straight outside into the fresh air. It was a nice change and she welcomed it, basked in it and let herself cool off from such a distressing situation.

“Now, Tilly, let me prepare the last two meals in peace.”

She rolled her eyes before leaving, joining Arthur and John who looked astonished from overhearing the argument and when Tilly noticed Marston standing there she waved a hand for him to come closer. “Go check on Abigail, make sure she doesn't kill our best chef please.”

“Of course.”

* * *

“Thank you, hope to see you soon!” Mary-Beth called after once they paid the bills but they didn't give her any attention as they focused on leaving the premises as fast as humanly possible. She didn't pick up on the looks of blatant disgust or how they refused to pay in full, she was more happy about having a customer for the first time and found it sweet that it happened to be such a small family.

When they were far enough away, Susan clapped her hands together before shouting for Micah to join them out in the dining area with the full intention of having everyone be disciplined for the troubles caused earlier. But Hosea placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook his head. 

“Good work today team.” Was all he really could say. He didn't want to praise them for their excellent work behaviour because there wasn't anything excellent about it nor did he fancy bringing up the argument and scolding two grown adults for their actions today. So he just complimented the group as a whole and left it at that, leaving them to stand in a shameful silence at what they had done.

Micah coughed gently into his fist once Hosea was gone, thinking he'd be able to get away with saying a small “ain't my fault” to clear his name from this but Charles and Arthur did not like how he was so quick to dismiss the situation and remove the blame for himself. They gave each other a look and silently agreed to a plan, with Arthur grabbing the man by his uniform collar and dragging him outside to ‘teach a lesson’.


	3. Chapter 3

“And why do you want to work here?” Dutch leaned back, further into the shadows and gently pushed the glasses further up his nose. The person he had been interviewing shuffled nervously in his seat, keeping his hands pressed tightly together in an attempt to not seem as nervous right now.

“I believe that I have the skills n-needed to work in a fine establishment such as this one and t-that I can bring success in the future of this r-restaurant sir.” He spoke so quietly, incapable of getting a few words out but Dutch felt something about him, something good deep in his gut.

He sat silently, thinking it over for a minute before eventually nodding. He extended his arm forward to shake the person's hand, giving him a charming smile while he congratulated him on the job. “I do hope to see you soon, Mr?”

“Duffy… Kieran Duffy.”

* * *

Dutch wanted Kieran to work in the kitchens, thinking it would be the most fitting place for him and because of how his head chef could do with an extra pair of hands to help him. Mrs Adler would help from time to time but most days she wasn't in, mostly because of Micah's arrogant nature she claimed it to be.

Kieran was told to be in for work no later than eight in the morning, as that was when the business opened on weekends but when he got there he found the place empty. For it being a new and welcoming place usually, there was this unsettling atmosphere around the building, as if his presence, once he got the job, wasn't welcomed there.

Kieran did notice the motorcycle out front, a tarpaulin pulled neatly over to protect it from rain and possibly dust. Kieran was curious to see the bike underneath but resisted the temptation to reveal it to the world, trotting up the steps to enter the fine building.

In the early morning is smelled strangely of pine and cinnamon but there was still a lot of whiskey in the air that choked Kieran the minute he took in a whiff and he let out a gag at the strong smell, wondering the methods of cleaning this group went through. 

He did, however, appreciate how easy it was to navigate his way to the kitchen and was happy to find that inside here didn't smell so strongly of alcohol but rather plenty of cleaning chemicals which was just as bad. But the cleanliness impressed him, it showed they took running this place seriously and that was well enough for him.

Slowly Kieran walked over to a closet with a sticker on it, ‘kitchen staff’ printed in fine blue letters and when he pulled it open he found a leather jacket already hanging on one of the many hooks inside. That and the motorcycle led Kieran to believe he wasn't alone in the building and yet he hadn't found any other signs of another person, it was deathly quiet and nothing seemed to be misplaced.

Kieran peeled off his jacket and hung it up, adjusting the sleeves on his uniform once they fell before he set about exploring the kitchen to become familiar with his workspace, the last thing he needed to do was get lost when business was kicking off. He just wanted a vague sense of where everything was ready for later, the time for an in-depth exploration could wait for now.

While looking around the cupboards he found a pair of knives led out on the counter, the handle black with red markings scribbled onto it. None of the other utensils was decorated in such a way and so curiously, Kieran picked it up to get a better look.

In the handle the letters ‘M.B’ were engraved but didn't have that red inlay like the patterns. Perhaps they were initials to whoever these knives belonged too? That is, if they weren't restaurant property.

“Those aren't toys for you to play with.” Startled, Kieran dropped the knife on the counter but it bounced and hit the floor. Had he not stepped back it for sure it would have ended up in his shoes, which weren't the most secure in the likelihood of a knife falling on them. “Now look what you did!”

Kieran frantically looked over to find the owner of the voice, finding a blonde with a sour look staring daggers at the poor boy. Quickly, he picked up the knife and returned it to the counter and hurried away to avoid any more harsh looks but his company kept staring and not once did the sour expression falter.

“You don't touch my knives, cowpoke.” He snarled.

“Sorry, I-I didn't know.” Kieran stammered and Micah cocked an eyebrow at the nervous tone everything about him oozed nervous and that brought a smirk to the chefs face for an unknown reason.

“You that new kid that Dutch hired?”

“Yes… Duffy, Kieran Duffy.”

“Micah Bell. But you only call me ‘chef’, ‘boss’ or ‘sir’ understand?”

“Y-Yes.”

Micah frowned. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, chef.”

“I can tell I'm gonna like you.” Kieran smiled, still rather cautiously, at that and all the head chef did was roll his eyes.

“I promise I won't let you down, sir. I w-work hard I promise.”

“That's what they all say. But then three minutes later, not even that. They're out back with a cigarette because it's their break, this is a business… we have no time for breaks.” Micah sighed. He rolled down the sleeve on his uniform and narrowed his eyes at the watch strapped to his wrist, awkwardly Kieran stood by while his boss counted down the time and soon his face lit up which was an expression not worn often. “But it's now time for my break. You're in charge 'til I return kid.” Micah pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and walked over to the backdoor to leave Kieran standing bewildered in the kitchen.

* * *

Kieran organised the utensils among other things to his liking, while keeping it the same way that Micah had originally set it all out. He just worked better when things were set out in a specific way, it made it a lot easier and made sense. He hummed lowly to the song on the radio, something he could remember listening to all the time in college with his old friends.

He wasn't aware of another presence in the room before he span around with a bowl in his hands, only to come face to face with a fairly pretty lady. “Christ alive you scared me!”

She raised her hands quickly and took a step away, giving him an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry, I came in here lookin' for Micah and got distracted by your dancin' around.” She explained, her face turning a soft shade of red.

“Oh, you're alright. Micah's smokin' I think, he left on a break despite the day not even startin'.”

“Sounds like him.” She chuckled. Even after she stopped it replied in his mind, it was by far the sweetest laugh he had ever heard and even with their short interaction she seemed to be the sweetest person ever met.

“I haven't even introduced myself yet.” She quickly reached forward, holding her hand out flat. “Mary-Beth Gaskill.”

His palms became very sweaty as he took her hand, nervously shaking it. “Dieran Kuffy... I-I mean Kieran Duffy.”

“Well, I need to open the bar ready for Karen and Charles who you should meet later. It was nice meeting you… Kieran.”

Mary-Beth slowly left the kitchen but he stared at the air as if she never did leave, so caught off guard by her pretty face. He felt like a child to be crushing on a girl he barely met, even after their small conversation but she was so sickly sweet that he couldn't help it. Even when Micah returned Kieran was still standing in the same spot with a dazed look in his eye, only snapping from his daydreams when he clapped a couple of times. “You look like a fool, that's already a strike.”

“A strike?”

“Yes. You best be careful boy, because three strikes and you are out.”

“What did I even g-get a strike for.”

“Your face. It's not pleasant to look at.” Micah snatched the bowl from his hands and walked to the other end of the kitchen, placing it on the counter and pulling a few ingredients used for a cake out to lay next to it. 

“You ain't one to talk.” Kieran snapped back while he finished setting up the work station. His backchat wasn't appreciated and Micah turned around mouth agape.

“And that's strike two!”

* * *

“Got an order for pizza today. Is that more sophisticated for our chef?” Mary-Beth entered the kitchen with that usual kind smile, her eyes lingering on Kieran longer than what should have been. 

Micah pulled a face at her sarcasm as he finished decorating the cake with frosting, carrying it over to the freezer to keep it nice and fresh. “Duffy, handle the pizza.”

Kieran nodded despite not being seen and quickly rushed to get the ingredients needed as well as another bowl to use. He seemed more excited than most to begin cooking, but he was efficient and almost impressive that it shocked Micah.

“When's that birthday comin' in?” Micah asked Mary-Beth. 

“Not sure. Later.”

“Narrows it down. Cakes done at least, didn't know I signed up for bakery duty either.”

She shrugged. “It's a cake for a child, what's the problem?”

“It's a cake for a child. You said it already, sister.”

Mary-Beth crossed her arms, letting out a huff at his attitude. “You wanted to work here yet all you've done is complain.”

“What of it?”

“It's annoying.”

Micah let out a low chuckle. His hand was planted on the island while she tried her best to sink away, but her feet felt like they were glued firmly to the ground and no matter how hard she tried walking back from him proved to be difficult. 

“Until you start workin' in the kitchens, you should stop complainin'.” He spoke slowly, annunciating the words more but it was all in a mocking manner.

Kieran watched but didn't step in, this was his first day on the job and the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Micah. So he focused on the food, mixing the ingredients in the bowl until he had a product that was what he needed.

He pulled the dough and sprinkled some flour on the surface, patting the rest onto the dough itself before rolling and kneading it out. 

“Nobody likes a smart girl.” Micah finished with and it struck a nerve with Mary-Beth who raised her hand and slapped him, hard across the cheek. It forced his head to move and Micah stood bewildered as she stormed off, when he looked at Kieran his temper grew when he saw him with a big smile on his face.

“Found this funny did you?” Micah spat, marching up to him now.

Kieran kept his head down while he focused on making the pizza, laying the cheese around evenly before adding the toppings. “N-No, 'course not.”

“You found somethin' funny.” He pressed on.

Kieran shook his head frantically, trying his best to avoid Micah as he carried the pizza over towards the oven but Micah continued to stare daggers into the poor boy's soul. “You watch your back, Duffy.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”

* * *

The day was long and filled with more customers than expected. That was no problem, it meant that they did make a decent amount of money and got to work but being opened fairly recently Kieran didn't expect the number of people that came in.

He sat alone on the steps of the restaurant, a cigarette in hand while he waited for the next bus to come in to take him back down to the city. He thought he was the last left at the restaurant before Mary-Beth came out with a basket in hand, filled with small slices of bread among other things.

“I didn't realise there were people still left.” She commented, walking down to sit next to him despite the lack of invitation.

He smiled slowly. “Micah had me sort out all the kitchen so I missed the other bus, gotta wait now for this one.”

“Well, you'll be waitin' a while. Karen's on her way to come pick me up and I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking you home too.”

“Oh no, I couldn't ask for that favour.” He rejected. Mary-Beth frowned a little but nodded slowly, moving the basket onto her lap so she could pass over a small muffin from inside. It was a small gift for Kieran and he seemed very surprised when she gave it to him, but he was hungry and rejecting food of any kind was far out of the question. 

“A small welcome gift.” Mary-Beth smiled, watching as he ate it. 

“Thank you. It tastes really good.”

“Forgive me for this forward question. But where do you live?” Kieran shrugged, not providing any clear answer by any means.

“In the city, where else?”

“S'pose you have a point.”

“Well, to be honest with you, my roommates decided to kick me out last week so besides the occasional couch I've not really got any place.”

Mary-Beth gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. “My, that's awful.”

“I got used to it.” He said.

“Well, by all means you're welcome to come live with the girls and me… we have the space for it.”

The offer was well-intended enough, but it did feel intrusive if he accepted. That and Kieran hardly knew these people, while Mary-Beth was an acquaintance now by all means the others were complete strangers who he had only seen through the window of the kitchen door, so living with them after hardly knowing them was just too far out of the question. 

Unfortunately, their conversation was heard by one last person who had been standing behind them the entire time, a smug smile on his face while he listened. “There's some space for you in my trailer.”

Kieran startled, standing and turning around quickly to look at the other person while Mary-Beth only cursed loudly. “How long you been there, Micah?”

“Long enough.” Micah answered.

Kieran ran his hand through his hair, letting out a long breath of air in frustration. Karen eventually showed up, not bothering to park the car as she turned around in the gravel car park. With her ride here, Mary-Beth had to say her farewells and run over, not before saying a brisk goodbye to Kieran and when the women were gone Micah turned back down to offer him a place to stay once again.

“It's a real lovely trailer out in the woods. If you ain't got no place why not stay there?”

“Look… I don't know, Micah.”

“Come on, what's the harm?” Kieran didn't know what the answer was but there was something very off about it all, and there was something very off about Micah too. He rejected a couple more times but Micah was persistent, pressing on about it until eventually, Kieran felt obligated to accept the request.

With a smirk, Micah walked over to his bike and carefully pulled the tarpaulin from it revealing the vehicle underneath and the white sticker with a name printed on it. “Baylock,” Kieran mumbled, and Micah looked proud when he read it allowed. 

“She's my baby.”

“Well, she looks nice.”

“Just nice?” Micah climbed on, starting her up and smiling in satisfaction at the low purr. “Well, get on then.”

Once Kieran climbed on the motorcycle was off, speeding down the gravel of the parking lot and onto the tarmac roads. He didn't like how quick they were going and held on tight, afraid of falling off while Micah simply laughed loudly.

Shouting did nothing and every time Kieran opened his mouth to beg for them to slow down he felt a fly get blown in from the wind and would end up choking on it for a minute too long.

Eventually, he did get used to the fast pace and relaxed a little and somehow Micah was able to sense that the boy was growing used to the speed he was going so it made sense for him to swerve around a sharp corner to cut into the forest, almost drifting, and it was enough to set Kieran off on screaming once again.

However, now that they were off the road and cutting through the trails in the forest they couldn't resume that speed unless they wanted to end up in an accident and, despite enjoying the thrill of speeding, Micah didn't want to hurt his bike… his most precious. It also meant that Kieran could calm down from the fear.

It took another five minutes before they eventually found Micah trailer, sitting on a pile of bricks in the middle of the woods with the nearest city being too far away to ever be comfortable. 

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Micah said once he stopped. Kieran looked at it, taking it all in while struggling to really come up with anything to reply at the sure state it happened to be in.

“It looks… nice.” Kieran managed, but more accurate descriptions of it were along the lines of ‘awful’ or maybe even ‘shit’, but the false compliment was enough for Micah who smiled proudly at his home with his arms stretched wide to show it off.

“Well, what are you waiting for come on in.” Micah ran towards the door of his trailer and pushed it open disappearing inside. It was small, barely enough room for Micah let alone the pair of them and while sitting outside all day wasn't so much a problem the idea of sleeping inside made him feel ill.

“I wouldn't like to intrude on your space, Mr Bell.” Kieran said as he hesitantly approached the trailer. Even from where he stood there was a putrid smell coming from inside that caused him to gag, how he missed the sharp smell of chemicals in the restaurant. For someone who was so picky about how his kitchen was cleaned he was surprised to find his own home being the total opposite of what that was like.

“Nonsense.” When Kieran walked in he found Micah bending down to face a rat cage on the ground, at least they looked to be taken care of more so than anything else here. There were two in there, beautiful and brown and they seemed eager to run to Micah once he opened the cage for them; climbing onto his hands respectively and up his arms.

“This one's Survivor and the other is Winner. They were a gift from my brother before we had a falling out.”

“You have a brother?”

“Had is more like. We don't talk anymore, never will.”

“Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Don't be.” Micah made sure his rats were perched securely on his shoulders. Eventually, he kicked something over towards Kieran, gave him a small smile while pointing down at it.

“And you, you sleep here.” Kieran looked surprised when Micah kicked over the worn lumpy dog bed. He couldn't be serious. 

"A dog bed... surely you're kidding," Duffy muttered immediately regretting speaking about it when Micah narrowed his eyes.

"You sleep there or outside. Choice is yours." He said, through gritted teeth while lighting a cigarette. "Or I'll feed you to bigfoot."


End file.
